Die Cutting notes- follow-up

Yesterday a comment came in that stated she needed the book before she used her new cutter.  The book is a GREAT resource and yes she needs it.  But, well I had to say "at least try a little bit"
Here is what I wrote back to her: (I did some small edits and didn't put her name here.)
_name withheld_ don't be afraid to try it out.  The big thing to remember is to put the fabric with the LENGTHWISE grain (the direction the selvedge runs) going thru the cutter.  This eliminates the stretch that causes inaccurate cuts. 

If you are cutting pre-fused applique shapes:

A. leave the paper on the back (or the layers will stick together!) 

B. the paperbacking and fusible help to stabilize the grain so the grain direction is not as important. (but always try to keep it on lengthwise anyway) 

C.  a pin to score the back of the paper after cutting will make it easier to remove the paper. (lifting the edge and pulling can distort the shape.) 

Have FUN!

And a blog post with no pictures is not as fun so here are some  pictures to make it pretty.

Die cutter - Go! by AccuQuilt

Drunkards path die cut block and pieces (and yes, they are sewn not fused!)

Die cut borders.

Die cut star on an art quilt

The Big Little Book Blog Tour

Truthfully the actual title is The Big Little Book of Fabric Die Cutting Tips Blog Tour - that just wouldn't fit in the title area of the blog post.   Today is finally my day to tell you why you this book is important!

As many of you know, I have an AccuQuilt GO! die cutter that I love to use.  I have made videos about it.   But I was not successful with it as soon as I got it.  Why? For one thing this book wasn't available.

In fact it still isn't available, but it will be on November 1st.  Yaaay!
You see, when I got my Go! cutter, I didn't know the "tricks of the trade" to use it most successfully.  I didn't realize that fabric will stretch as it goes through the cutter. I cut some square shapes that weren't square.  Fortunately, I knew people who were able to help me sort out that problem.  In the process of learning I became acquainted with the author of this book, Ebony Love.
Ebony has lots of videos explaining various aspects of die cutting.  She has finally put her expertise into this book.
There are chapters on everything from choosing a die cutter. There are several brands and models of die cutters, so how do you decide which one to buy?  Ebony has done all the research and you can read the pros, cons and approximate prices in the book.
There are all types of dies.  How do you know which ones to buy?  When I first started using the GO!  I used it only for piecing shapes.  Now I use it more for applique shapes than for piecing as my style of quilting has changed.  Ebony outlines how to choose dies you will use.  There are also tips listed to help you utilize the dies you get for maximum efficiency.  (Did you know that strip dies can also cut diamonds?)  The book tells you how to care for the investments you have made in purchasing dies.

One thing most people who haven't used a die cutter are unaware of are the consumable supplies such as mats.  There is an entire chapter on consumables for the various systems. There are tips on getting the most out of your consumables to save money.

Another thing I loved is the section in the cutting chapter about minimizing fabric waste.  Most of my readers know that I hate to waste a square inch of fabric. So of course I found this section to be my favorite.

There is even a nice resource section in the book with lots of wonderful resources for die cutters.  I even found a listing of My YouTube channel.  (I am honored to be considered a "resource.")


If you are considering getting a fabric die cutter, or perhaps have one and have been frustrated trying to use it, this book is a great source of information.  You can order it direct from the author.  Or you can order it from Amazon.

Tomorrow is the last stop of the blog tour. That stop will be hosted by the First Lady of Fabric Die Cutting (as I call her)  Ebony Love at LoveBug Studios.

The Giving Quilt - Review

Have you ever read a book and thought the author had been peeking into your life?  With Jennifer Chiaverini's newest book, The Giving Quilt, I had several moments like that.  In this book the Elm Creek Manor hosts a QuiltsGiving week just after Thanksgiving.  This is a special winter Quilt Camp to make charity quilts.  In this case they are making them for Project Linus, a great choice!

Early in the story, the participants are asked, "Why do you give?" Those of you who are faithful readers have been asked that on my blog.  Some of you gave wonderful and wonderfully honest answers.  Several said that "It makes me feel good."  I confess that I have that reason too.  The question made me think. It also reminded me that I am truly blessed in many ways and thus I give in gratitude for what I have.  Both last year and this year I have worked on a project that I call "Quilt Angels."  The Quilt Angels is a project to get quilts for a home where teens in need can find safe shelter.  The project was suggested to me by a friend and I initially said "I can't do that, there just isn't enough time."   Then I decided to see if I could find help.  That is when I discovered what a wonderful group of people quilters are.  Quilters are often givers.

In this story there are chapters where you learn why each person is at QuiltsGiving. Some of the stories may bring tears to your eyes or maybe another strong emotion.  It is very likely that you will find a resonance with one or more of the characters.

I had a delightful moment when I was reading along on my lunch break.  One of the ladies in the book works at a quilt store named "String Theory."  I laughed out loud at that point. You see, I made a quilt that I entered into an online quilt show.  The title of the quilt is .....can you guess???  Yes! I called the quilt "String Theory." Originally, the rules were that I couldn't show the quilt until after the judging.  The show was cancelled due to lack of entries. So I showed my quilt as part of Quilty Embellishment day.  I am sure that Ms. Chiaverini didn't see my quilt name and use it. It was simply a delightful coincidence.

The characters in the book are nicely developed and I found that I bonded with each of them. A couple of them reminded me of some of my blogger buddies.  While we each have challenges, how we meet those challenges and rise above them makes up our patchwork life.  One particular thing that I loved in this book is the way a group of strangers took their love of quilting and used it to build friendships.  Is it any wonder that this book resonated with me?

I wholeheartedly recommend that you read this book.  I was given a review copy to read.  However,  if I had not loved the book, I would tell you so.  Ms. Chiaverini writes with excellent insight into the quilters' world. She designs fabric for Red Rooster Fabrics and has published quilt patterns. She was even a guest on the once very popular Simply Quilts with Alex Anderson where she said that she is a self-taught quilter.   If you have read her books before, then you know that she is a great storyteller. I was surprised to find that she once taught writing at Penn State.  I would love to have taken her classes.
The book is available on Amazon (also in Kindle edition), Barnes &Noble (also for Nook), and many other merchandisers.   The release date is set for October 30; so it will be placed on the shelves that day.
Why do you give?

Baby Quilt - Adding Embroidered Applique

Just a quick quilt update.  I am working on the baby quilt for my friend Darla who is having a baby boy soon.  Fortunately she doesn't read my blog so it is safe to post pictures.   Yesterday I added the machine embroidered applique to the quilt.   I just wanted some fun designs to add interest for the baby as he gets old enough to notice.  So I used the dog, cat, circle and star cutting dies with my AccuQuilt GO! cutter.  I also used embroidery files that I got from Marjorie at B-Quilts Shop.

The star at the bottom is done with variegated thread so the white that you see is not a mistake.  It just looks a bit odd in the photo.
Now I need to add the yellow sashing and put the back together so I can get this baby quilted!

Be sure to come back tomorrow.  I will be reviewing Jennifer Chiaverini's book, The Giving Quilt which has a release date of October 30th.
The following day is my turn on The Big Little Book of Fabric Die Cutting Tips blog tour so of course you will want to be here for that one too!
See you soon.

Blogger's Quilt Festival

Last night a friend asked if I was going to enter the Blogger's Quilt Festival.  I emailed back and told her that I was passing on it this year.  As they say on The Quilt Show (Alex and Ricky) "Every Day is a New Day!"   So today is a new day and I have decided to enter.
I am happy to enter my favorite art quilt of the year into this show.

Blogger’s Quilt Festival Stats

Finished quilt measures : 14″x 17″

Special techniques used : decorative machine stitches, hand embroidery, couching

Quilted by : Gene Black

Best Category : Art quilt, wall hanging, doll/mini quilt

String Theory

 I love the energy and joy that is shown in this quilt.  I learned a lot about hand stitching and more about the stitches on my machine in making this  piece. From the very start of this quilt I was inspired.  The base fabric, a batik, has lots of visual texture.  In making this quilt, I wanted to add to that texture. I also wanted to add more color to intensify the visual impact of the quilt. I also happen to love bright bold colors.

As I worked on this quilt I noticed a flow begin to develop. Areas were stitched, not in a planned order, but rather as inspiration came. I let the quilt “tell me” what it wanted rather than trying to plan everything out.  Symbols that have personal meaning, such as the spiral, were incorporated into the design.  There are a lot of organic shapes that emerged as the quilt took form.

Various areas were filled with hand stitches but also some machine stitches.  In places, threads were woven through other stitches.  Much like our lives, the combination, working together added strength to the whole.

I sometimes used more than one thread in the needle as I had sewed.  This allowed some subtle color shifts that would not be possible with a single thread.  It also created a few challenges in the hand stitching. It was a great learning process for me.

Detail pictures:

Be sure you go to check out the Blogger's Quilt Festival at Amy's Creative Side. There are lots of links to some wonderful and inspiring works. 

WOW! Color Overload

Today I received a delicious package in the mail.  Inside was a fat quarter bundle of Eat Your Fruits and Veggies Batiks by Pat Sloan.  I am in color overload - no make that color heaven!   These colors are rich and vibrant and they are batiks which I love!  I mean just look at these:

There is a rainbow of delights in this bundle.   

 Now you may see a GREEN ink pen laying on top of the bundle.  If you look closely you will see the name on it: Green Fairy Quilts.  This is a blog (and a business) run by Clint and Judi Madsen.  Judi is an extraordinary longarm quilting artist.  I follow her blog just so I can see her amazing work.  Of course the Green Fairy Quilts Shop is a great place to buy fabric too.  They have great prices on pre-cuts of fabric.   I recommend getting on the email list so you know what is going on sale.
So anyway, I have to confess that when Judi posted Giveaway Time, I entered.  (are you surprised?)  She asked that we list "three favorite items in the store."   Of course I started in the Fat Quarter Bundle section (and found three favorites there.)  I never dreamed that I would actually get a FQ bundle. I saw later that there were 328 comments so I wasn't expecting to win anything. All I can say is HOORAY!!!  the question is: Can I cut into this lovely stuff - or will I just sit and admire the lovely colors?  I am sure I will admire it for a little while. LOL.  But it will be used.

Thanks so much Judi and Clint,  you made my week!

Fast and Simple

Some friends of mine are having a baby.  The sonogram says it is a boy.  So I am making a little quilt for the new boy.  After going through what I had on hand I decided to use two different blues.  Since I need to do this quickly, I decided to do a simple checkerboard patchwork pattern.  I am cutting 6" squares.  It seems to be not too big and not too small.  Also my handy 24" by 6" ruler made cutting the pieces super easy. (If I had my AccuQuilt Go! with me, I could have used the 6" die and done the same thing.)
To speed it along I cut strips 6" by "24" of each fabric and sewed those first. Then I subdivided those into 6" sections (6 by 12) and sewed them into patchwork.
I did two sections that are 4 by 5 rows of these.

My plan it to add wide yellow sashings with maybe some blue cornerstones on the ends.  I don't have that yellow fabric with me, so I can't be sure it will work.  The other option I have considered is a tan fabric.  I really think the yellow will make a happier quilt.  What do you think?  I have also considered red for the cornerstones  but I will have to audition that also. Do you have any great ideas for this?

What is your go to design for a fast baby quilt?  (I have another one to make for a baby that is due a little later.)

One More Done!

Happy happy! Joy Joy!  My last unbound quilt is now bound.   The back of the quilt is a blue green, the front has a black background.  Sounds like it would be easy to pick out a binding material doesn't it?  I took a scrap of the backing with me to the store and chose a binding fabric. But, there was one little problem. One aspect was neglected.  The design fabric on the front is all "Asian style" prints with a number of colors.  When I auditioned the binding fabric, only one word came to mind: NO! - and it was in capital letters with a big exclamation point after it. Arrrgh!  Now what?  I decided to go through my stash fabrics again.
I had some in these two tote bags that I had "forgotten" about.

The lighter one doesn't look like there is much in it, or is there?

There are several yards folded onto comic book boards to make mini bolts.   This is where I found the magical fabric that worked perfectly.  It is a design by Jo Morton for Andover fabrics. Unfortunately the name escapes me at the moment.
Regardless, it was perfect for this quilt.

The stripes on the fabric were almost perfectly on grain.  This is something I have found to be very rare.
Now some of you may recognize this quilt.  You see, it has been languishing for a long time.  I started it and pieced the top in 2010.  I had it quilted in 2011.  Now in 2012, I am finally getting a binding on it.
The pattern for this is one I designed.  It is called Dance of the Japanese Lanterns. It is made using the chisel die for the Accuquilt Go! 55039 OR the Studio Die 50250 OR  Studio Die 50148.   There is also the option to cut a template. I have listed it again in my Etsy Store if you would like to get a copy of the PDF pattern.
I hope you are getting some projects finished too!

EQ7 Printing Foundations

When you are working in EQ7 (Electric Quilt software) you may wish to print paper foundation pieces.  This can be a little tricky since you can only print a page that is 8.5" by 11"  So what do you do??? You could make all your blocks smaller than that - but what fun is that?  I hate being limited. Let's find a solution.

I was stumped on this for a bit, but I did figure it out.  Of course I want to share it with you.  This is a block I drew that is not easily cut and pieced.  So if I made it, I would probably do paper piecing.

Here is the drawing of the block:

Getting those angles and points right by cutting and piecing would be a real chore.
So in EQ7 click on the Printer button. It will drop down a menu where you can choose Foundation Pattern.

Then you will get a window with three tabs, pick options

This is important because on this tab you can choose the size of your block(s.) I have already set mine to 9" square.  (you just type the number in the box)
Now click Preview

This will bring up a nice preview of how the foundation will print.

OOPS!  It is going to chop it up. I don't want to have to tape or glue pieces together.  Relax, we can fix this.
There is a nice little "MOVE" feature.  In the above picture look at the top.  See that move button?  When you click it then you can rearrange the pieces - just click, hold and drag.
There doesn't this look better?

Now you can print the foundations and go sew them.
I hope that some of you that use EQ7 will try this.

Edgy Stuff

Some days work starts too early.  Today we are having a training and I have to leave home much earlier than usual.  Forgive my lack of words...the coffee hasn't kicked in yet.
Yesterday I had some spare time so I got two quilts bound!

Binding is Edgy Stuff!

Ignore those thread snippings...I know I do. LOL.  These are the Beginner's Quilt Along sampler quilts.  They both have fun backings.
I hope you got a good nights sleep and didn't have to get up "before God turned the lights on."
Have a great day.

Fun With Rails in EQ

One of the bloggers that I enjoy reading is doing a series of Electric Quilt tutorials.  Today she showed how to use a rail fence block to make a piano key type border in EQ.  The blogger I speak of is BeaQuilter.
I was inspired to take a quilt design and add an inner rail fence border.  Of course once I started playing in EQ (Electric Quilt)  I redesigned the quilt too. Ha ha.
Here is the quilt.

I am not totally happy with the inside blocks but I love that rail fence border with cornerstones!

Men Quilt Too /On Tour - want to join me?

Today is the Men Quilt Too Show linky party. For my usual readers some of this may be a 're-run.'
 Let me present:

String Theory

From the very start of this quilt I was inspired.  The base fabric, a batik, has lots of visual texture.  In making this quilt, I wanted to add to that texture. I also wanted to add more color to intensify the visual impact of the quilt. I also happen to love bright bold colors.

As I worked on this quilt I noticed a flow begin to develop. Areas were stitched, not in a planned order, but rather as inspiration came. I let the quilt “tell me” what it wanted rather than trying to plan everything out.  Symbols that have personal meaning, such as the spiral, were incorporated into the design.  There are a lot of organic shapes that emerged as the quilt took form.
Various areas were filled with hand stitches but also some machine stitches.  In places, threads were woven through other stitches.  Much like our lives, the combination, working together added strength to the whole.
I sometimes used more than one thread in the needle as I had sewed.  This allowed some subtle color shifts that would not be possible with a single thread.  It also created a few challenges in the hand stitching. It was a great learning process for me.

I chose the title String Theory for a couple of reasons.  In science, string theory is a contender as a “theory of everything.”  It is a way of attempting to describe the natural world and its wonder.  I am fascinated by the higher sciences.   The second reason is that every part of the quilt is made up of strings.  Some of them are visible and some are hidden. I found  the wordplay in the title appealing to me creatively.

Here are some detail pictures. 

Please feel free to browse my full blog for other quilts I have made. And I hope you like what you see and decide to become a follower.

The Big Little Blog Book Tour – Starts Next THIS Week!

Yes I will be a stop on the Tour. I won't be there next week I will be on the tour on October 30th.  I am the next to last stop.  (I am thinking "save the best for last" - like dessert. ha ha)

I haven't yet decided if I will be writing about the book or doing a demonstration or ???? So you will just have to wait and see.
The Book is on Die Cutting fabric and covers all the major brands of cutters.  You will want to follow this tour.  Trust me.
Here’s the lineup of tour hosts!

• October 16th – Ebony Love, LoveBug Studios (that’s me!)
• October 17th – Jennifer Rodriguez, All Things Belle
• October 18th – Marjorie Busby, Marjorie’s Quilting Bee
• October 19th – Michelle Marr, Michelle’s Romantic Tangle
• October 20th – Tammy Tutterow, Sizzix Blog
• October 21st – Patsy Thompson, Patsy Thompson Designs
• October 22nd – Tracy Rampling, The Peony Teacup
• October 23rd – Mary Fons, Hey Quilty!
• October 24th – Barb Gaddy, Bejeweled Quilts
• October 25th – Katrina Chapman Khan, Sunshower Quilts
• October 26th – SewCal Gal, Insights from SewCalGal
• October 27th – Vanessa Wilson, The Crafty Gemini
• October 28th – Kelly Jackson, I Have a Notion
• October 29th – Connie Campbell, Freemotion By the River
• October 30th – Gene Black, An Alabama Quilter
• October 31st – Ebony Love, LoveBug Studios
• November 1st – Book Launch on Amazon! (but you can pre-order anytime)

Wow...just look at that lineup.  I can hardly wait! I am just as curious as you are as to what I will be sharing.

Paint and Fabric - a new Adventure

A book I got on sale from C&T publishing is about creating fabric designs with paint. The title is Off the Shelf Fabric Painting.   I was very happy on reading it to find that she recommends Golden Liquid Acrylics which I have for painting art also.  Of course being me, I never really follow the directions. (are you surprised?)
Today I took some basic supplies:

Golden Fluid Acrylics in three transparent colors:  Phtalo Blue (green shade) Quinacridone Crimson and Transparent Yellow Iron Oxide .  A bottle of water (recycled dish liquid bottle), a plastic tray and some unbleached muslin.  I did the first piece with these colors on folded cloth that was sprayed just damp.  I manipulated it a lot.  Here is my first result:

Then I decided to change to a stronger yellow - Diarylide Yellow - which is also transparent. I premixed the yellow paint with some water in a disposable cup. I did the same with the red. I put on a rubber glove and smeared it around a bit.  Then I rinsed the glove; put a bit of the blue in the tray with some water and put loose handprints on the fabric.  I also filled in some of the white areas with the blue. (I should have left more white.)  But here is my second result.

I printed another one by dampening the fabric and laying it on top of the second one. It is far more pastel and has more white space...but I forgot to take a picture of it.

The hard part will be letting these sit and dry to become permanent.  The book says to wait 14 days.  Sigh!  Let the waiting begin.   What do you think? should I continue doing these?
Should I really follow the directions next time?  Yeah, maybe I should -- I would love your comments.